His hand squeezes me again, and my breathing turns ragged.

“Darcee.”

The growl of my name is the only warning I get before my body leaves the mattress. Bael rises into a sitting position and gathers me to his front—my spine molds to his chest. In the morning light, everything is visible. There is no sheet to hide what we are doing. Over my shoulder, his mouth finds mine. I gasp against him when I feel him tug the other strap of my nightgown down.

The fabric pools as my waist, leaving me naked from the chest up. I’m glad for this position—it conceals the markings on my back—I don’t want those awful memories to ruin this beautiful morning. Bael’s hand alternates between my nipples, working them as his tongue tangles with mine.

My legs spread of their own accord, propping themselves up so that he has better access to me. The sunlight reveals the messy state of my sheets below us. A breeze blows in from the open window, washing us in the scent of fresh grass. All I smell is Bael. All I taste is him. He is everywhere—embedded in the very fibers of my soul.

He breaks our kiss to stare down at me. My skin is flushed, and sweat pools at my temples. His heavy breaths move along my back, and I can feel the pounding of his heart. It matches the rhythm of my own.

“Beautiful,” he growls, tracing a finger through my wetness, and my head lolls against his shoulder. “Mine.”

His declaration should scare me—it should wake me from whatever sexual haze I’m in and end this. It’s already gone too far, and I can’t stop it. I can’t do anything but thrust myself against his soft touch. I am conflicted over all of this, but there is no denying how much I want him. It isn’t because I want to play along for the potion. It’s because he’s Bael.

The male who came when I called him, who held me through the night and offered me comfort, who understood everythingwithout asking a single question, who made me feel like, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t alone.

Is it wrong to enjoy this now, knowing soon he will return to hating me? I don’t have an answer to that. All I know is that right now, it's just us. My morals have already been compromised. I might as well go all in with it now.

His long finger skims through my wetness again, brushing my clit as he goes. A gasp rasps out of me, the pleasure already intense.

“There,” I sigh, turning back to look at him. “More.”

Bael’s eyes darken as he applies brush to that little bundle of nerves. His fingers are too firm at first, but I quickly remedy that with a kiss and a command ofsofter. It’s not long before he finds his rhythm. Together, he works my pussy and nipples, heightening my pleasure to levels I didn’t know were possible.

I’m never this easy to please. Typically, it takes a lot more work and longer for me even to feel close to climaxing. As it stands, Bael only needs to sink a finger inside of me, and I’ll be on the precipice of my peak.

“Bael.”

His hand makes deliciously sloppy sounds as he works me. My hips move of their own accord, grinding against his circling fingers. My arm curls around his shoulders, and he lifts me further up his chest. More of me is exposed to his greedy eyes. Bending down, he presses a kiss to the side of my breasts.

“Darcee—tell me what you need. How can I?—”

“Inside,” I gasp. “Put your fingers inside me.”

Bael growls like a beast. Tightening his grip on my breast one last time, he lowers it to my hip. His other hand skims lower, coating his fingers in my wetness. His finger traces around my entrance, and my legs inch further apart. The muscles of my thighs begin to burn, but it pales in comparison to the fire raging inside me.

He tucks a finger just into my opening, and my head falls back. The only thing keeping me upright is his other hand holding firm. Slowly, he sinks the whole finger inside of me. He wiggles it around, retreating partially and then plunging it back inside. My stucco moans encourage him to do it again—faster, harder.

It’s not long before he adds a second one and stretches me. He pumps them quickly, curling in a way that brushes a secret spot inside me that blurs my vision. Bael brings his other hand to work my clit, and I’m done for.

“Bael—oh Goddess, I’m close.” The words spill from my lips.

His fingers continue to fuck me—tunneling in and out over and over. The pressure on my clit is perfect. My peak looms ahead, tantalizingly close.

“I need to feel it, Darcee. Reward me with your pleasure. Soak my hand with your sweet come.” His lips curl against my head. “Then I’ll lick your little pussy clean.”

I’ve never heard Bael use foul language before. Those crude words race through my body and send me tumbling over the edge. I scream out his name—metal dances in the air as all the candles on my desk blaze to life. My magic and pleasure have never been tied before, but with Bael, anything seems possible.

Fire licks at my skin, and my tight muscles eventually relax. Bael never stops working me. The wet sounds of his fingers pumping me only intensify as I do indeed soak his hand. Once I am spent, and my body is trembling against him, I watch through heavy-lidded eyes as he sucks my come from each finger.

The grin he gives me is wicked, and my body is already heating up for more.

“Delicious, little witch. I need more.”

He slides out from behind me, and my head falls to the mountain of pillows against my headboard. Crawling betweenmy spread thighs, he looks almost comically large, stuffed at the end of my small bed. His smile is pure male satisfaction as he stares down at me. I don’t feel shy—quite the opposite as my legs inch even farther apart.

Bael smirks. “Naughty.”